


We Can't Always Cope With Takeout

by Cecil_G_P



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 00:51:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13330005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cecil_G_P/pseuds/Cecil_G_P
Summary: They start small.





	We Can't Always Cope With Takeout

It had to happen eventually.

They stand in Juno’s cramped kitchen, with a large cutting board and two knives between them. Juno demonstrates, with a practiced motion, how to chop garlic without getting his fingers caught by the knife. Peter’s eyes follow his fingers intently and when Juno’s finished with his clove he picks up his own knife and slowly copies the motion himself. His garlic pieces aren’t quite as fine as Juno’s by the end of it, but it’s workable, and there hasn’t been any bleeding yet, so Juno holds out hope that they can make it to the end of this unscaved. They set the garlic aside and start cutting up some broccoli. It goes quicker, what with the pieces only needing to be halved, not chopped, and soon they set the broccoli aside with the garlic. Juno turns to the pan, it’s had oil heating on it while they were chopping.

“Here comes the fun part,” he grins at Peter, who returns the smile. Juno tips in the thin slices of chicken that they prepared on a separate cutting board. Peter thinks back to Juno’s mortification after Peter expressed surprise at the necessity to use separate boards for the meat and the vegetables. 

“How have you survived this whole time, babe?” He had said, with a furrow to his brow.

“Off take out mostly.”

Of course that’s not entirely true. More than a few employers or marks had tried to impress him with a lavish meal over the years, and when take out couldn’t be found there was always ration bars. And before that there was someone else to take care of the cooking, and before that…

Peter turned his attention back to Juno, who was stirring in salt and pepper, and taking care to make sure the chicken was cooked thoroughly before he motioned to the garlic.

“Could you tip that into the pan for me, babe?” 

Obediently, he scraped the garlic off the cutting board and into the pan.

“You wanna try?” Juno held the spatula out to him with a hesitant smile.

“Of course.” He understood the hesitation, Peter’s stared more than a few fires in the weeks leading up to this lesson, but Juno was a good teacher, and Peter a fast learner. He mimied the stirring motion well enough that Juno beamed with pride. Peter can feel a small cavity in his chest scream in response, how long has it been since there’s been anyone to be proud of him?

Juno leans over him to check the garlic before tipping the broccoli in as well, without stopping his stirring Peter leans over to peck a kiss on Juno’s cheek. For as much as Juno laments about Peter’s diet, he knows for a fact that the broccoli is the first fresh vegetable Juno’s bought in over a month. He doesn’t say anything about it. Juno may be adept in the kitchen, but he can only be so when he has the energy. He subsists on takeout and ration bars as often a Peter, though admittedly for different reasons. After today though, Peter will be able to provide him something other than takeout on the days when Juno can’t find it in him to feed himself. 

Juno pours some soy sauce over the chicken and vegetables, it bubbles as it hits the hot pan causing Peter to lean back out of reflex and stir from a little more distance. It doesn’t splatter however, and soon Juno directs him to pour the mixture into a waiting bowl. 

“Hey could you grab another bowl and whisk up two eggs please?”

Peter manages the eggs well enough, eggs are one of the few things he can make, and has served as his dinner often. He looks over to his partner, without waiting for the pan to cool Juno wipes it out with a stack of paper towels and pours some fresh oil into it. He hands Peter a whisk and steps aside, letting him scramble the eggs into the pan. Meanwhile Juno grabs the noodles he prepared earlier and pours them into the pan once he determines the eggs have cooked enough. Peter switches out the whisk for tongs and stirs as Juno grabs the chicken and broccoli from earlier and tips it into the pan as well. 

Peter portions it our into two bowls as Juno dumps the supplies into the sink. He carries the bowls to the waiting table- cleared of case files for once and set for two. Peter leans against the table and waits for Juno to join him, grinning madly.

“I didn't burn anything this time!”

Juno laughs and pulls Peter into a light kiss.

“I might even go as far to say you did a pretty good job.”

They sit down to eat. Neither of them are good at this. “This” being taking care of themselves. Peter was never really given the opportunity to learn, and Juno was often convinced it wasn’t worth it to try. But they’re trying now. And until they figure how to take care of themselves, they can act as two halves of one functioning human to take care of each other.

**Author's Note:**

> The recipe is actually pulled from a Gordon Ramsay basics of cooking video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCknnSo6djI


End file.
